Chapter 5

Dante moved to one of the Family's high-end safe houses downtown.

Probably thought my "wedding bluff" was suffocating him and went there for some peace until I "calmed down."

Fine. We both got breathing room.

I quietly handled everything. Listed our shared penthouse on a discreet real estate site.

The afternoon I handed the keys to the broker, I was home sorting through random stuff. I found a shipment ledger tucked inside an old magazine—one of Dante's current port operations.

After a moment's hesitation, I decided to bring it to him.

When I arrived, the heavy reinforced door of the safe house was shut tight. Faint laughter drifted from inside, clearly more than one person. His inner circle.

I raised my hand to knock.

A familiar female voice rose, sounding helpless:

"Boss, it's my fault. First time catching a bouquet, I didn't know better. Now the guys at the club won't stop whispering, asking me if you and I are..."

"You gotta tell them to knock it off, Dante, or I won't be able to show my face at the warehouse anymore."

My raised hand froze mid-air.

Before Dante could respond, one of his capos, Silvio, cut in with a rough, teasing laugh:

"Come on, Miss Stone, do you really want the Boss to shut the rumors down, or are you fishing for him to make them true?"

A round of knowing, gritty laughter from the men.

Vivian pouted playfully, "Stop it," but there wasn't a trace of real annoyance in her voice.

"Alright, leave her alone."

Dante's voice came through, casual and indulgent.

"Don't sweat the whispers, Viv. Give it time, they'll find something else to talk about."

The words hit a switch in my memory.

Years ago, I went to the Family’s legitimate front—a high-end restaurant.

He had forgotten where we were and casually pulled me onto his lap in front of his soldiers.

The next day, rumors spread that the ruthless Dante Romano was going soft for a civilian girl.

That same afternoon, he had brutally shut it down.

Told everyone in the crew that I was just a girl he kept around, nothing serious enough to make him weak.

I'd understood then. To avoid making him look vulnerable, I stopped visiting his operations completely.

My fingertips went cold.

Turns out what he minded might never have been looking "soft" in front ofof his men.

Silvio spoke up again, confused:

"Speaking of which, Boss, what's the deal with this Elena situation? I actually got an invitation delivered to the club this morning. She's really committing to this bit, huh?"

Brief silence.

Dante laughed lightly, a cold, arrogant sound. "Let her print them."

"I usually let the small stuff slide. But this time, she needs to learn that bluffing me doesn't work. When she stands at that altar with no groom, she'll finally drop this childish act."

"Whoa," someone egged on, "so you're seriously gonna call her bluff? Just let her humiliate herself?"

Dante didn't answer, his silence basically confirming it. He was so utterly convinced I was playing a game of chicken.

Until Silvio tested the waters again:

"Dante, you sure you wanna let it go that far? You and Elena go way back. Unless... you got other plans for the future? Like... a union with Miss Stone's family?"

"Silvio~" Vivian drew out his name with a flirty laugh. "Don't say things like that. The Boss... he knows what he's doing."

The last few words came out soft and loaded with meaning.

Dante didn't explain.

Just the clinking of whiskey glasses and a round of knowing chuckles.

"If you ask me," another soldier chimed in, "Dante's already been generous enough. Anyone else would've tossed a girl out for throwing tantrums like this. Nothing like our Vivian here—smart, lethal, and actually useful to the Family..."

The motion-sensor light in the hallway flickered off.

The corridor plunged into heavy darkness.

I didn't knock. I gently set the ledger down on the welcome mat, right beneath the heavy steel door.

Then I turned around, and walked away into the shadows.